34 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



year; 123 claims for relief and reimbursement under the appro- 

 priations made by Congress in consequence of the forest fires in the 

 fall of 1910 were examined by the ofRcc; and 39 contracts for 

 the 25m'chase of lands for the protection of watersheds of navigable 

 streams under the i.ct of March 1, 1911, were prepared during the 

 year. 



TWENTY-EIGIIT-IIOUR LAW. 



Six hundred and thirty-one violations of the 28-hour law were 

 reported for prosecution, as compared .with 598 cases reported 

 in the fiscal year 1911. Penalties were recovered in 357 cases, 

 amounting to $28,400. Costs were assessed against the defendants in 

 these cases amounting to $2,937.13. In the fiscal year 1911 penalties 

 amounting to $2G,075 were recovered in 258 cases, with costs in the 

 sum of $5,783.85. There were 967 cases pending at the close of the 

 year, as compared with 807 cases pending on June 30, 1911. 



LIVE-STOCK QUARANTINE ACTS. 



One hundred and thirty-five violations of the live-stock quarantine 

 acts wei-e reported for prosecution. Of these, 124 were violations 

 of the act of March 3, 1905 (33 Stat., 1264), and 11 were violations 

 of the act of May 29, 1884 (23 Stat., 31). The total number of 

 cases of this class exceeded the number reported during the pre- 

 ceding fiscal year by 35 per cent. Fines aggregating $6,125 were im- 

 posed in 68 cases prosecuted during the year, and the costs of the 

 proceedings were uniformly assessed against the defendants. In 

 1911 fines were imjDosed in 51 cases, amounting to $5,580. 



MEAT INSPECTION. 



Eighty-five violations of the meat-inspection amendment (34 

 Stat., 674) were reported for prosecution, a decrease in number of 

 16 as compared with the fiscal year 1911. Sixty-five cases were 

 I)rosecuted successfully during the year, and fines were imposed 

 amounting to $4,746.75. In 3 cases sentences of imprisonment were 

 imposed. In the fiscal year 1911 fines amounting to $3,240 were im- 

 posed in 43 cases. Four cases resulted in verdicts for the defendant 

 in the fiscal year 1912. In 1911 but 1 case was terminated adversely 

 to the Government. At the close of the fiscal year 71 cases were 

 awaiting prosecution. 



INSECTICIDE ACT. 



The first apparent violation of the insecticide act of 1910 was re- 

 ported for prosecution in December, 1911. In all, 58 cases under 

 this statute were reported during the year. Six of these cases 

 resulted in convictions, and in one a decree of condemnation and 



